By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Football: Brookings Shocks O'Gorman to Reach 11-AA Semifinals
It's down to the final four in the South Dakota Class 11-AA football playoffs, with both of the semifinals set for Saturday.
One side of the bracket went true to form, but the other semifinal did not, as ninth-seeded Brookings ousted top-seed Sioux Falls O'Gorman Monday night 29-21. Brookings now faces fourth-seeded Sioux Falls Roosevelt in the semifinals, while second-seeded Watertown meets third-seed Sioux Falls Washington.
Roosevelt advanced with a 51-20 victory over Brandon Valley in Monday's quarterfinals. Watertown defeated the only West River team in the quarterfinals, Sturgis, 30-20, while Washington outscored Yankton 49-30 in the other Monday quarterfinal.
Brookings' win over O'Gorman was the biggest surprise in the quarterfinals, as the Bobcats were unranked, while O'Gorman was the top-ranked team in 11-AA and unbeaten on the season. The loss was only the second setback for the Knights in the last 50 games, while the victory for Brookings improved its season mark to 5-6 going into Saturday's semifinal game against Roosevelt.
O'Gorman did suffer a major blow in the course of the game when the Knights' top running back, Danny Isaacson, went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury with about five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. Isaacson had already carried for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns when the injury occurred.
Brookings' defense took over in the second half, not allowing a point, while Mason Winterboer ran for a pair of touchdowns, including one of 57 yards in the third quarter. His two-yard run with three minutes remaining in the contest sealed the win for the `Cats.
"Our inability to move the ball in the second half cost us," O'Gorman coach Steve Kueter told the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader after the game. "We struggled hanging on to the ball. Some of that is having some kids have to handle the ball too much. But you have to give Brookings credit. They defended us well."
In Washington's win over Yankton, the Warriors were aided by four touchdowns from running back Tim Marlette, who ran for three scores and returned an interception for another. Blake Berke ran for 140 yards and two more touchdowns for Washington, which improved to 9-2 while ending the Bucks' season at 8-3.
Football: 11-A Semifinal Pairings Set for Saturday
The Class 11-A semifinal pairings feature four region champions who were then re-seeded through their season power points under the system set up by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.
Rapid City St. Thomas More is the top-seed of the remaining four teams after Monday's 42-14 Region Four championship win over Belle Fourche. St. Thomas More will meet Winner in the semifinals. Winner was a 48-6 victor over Todd County in Monday's Region Three final.
The other matchup will feature second-seed West Central against third-seed Harrisburg, a team that ousted Vermillion 20-12 in the Region Two final. West Central claimed the Region One title with a 28-14 victory over Dell Rapids.
Football: Unlikely Semifinalists to Meet in 11-B
In the 11-B semifinals on Saturday, Groton is the top-seed and will face fourth-seed Mobridge, while second-seed Bon Homme meets third-seeded Tri-Valley.
In Monday's Region finals, Groton surprised top-seeded Aberdeen Roncalli 12-7 for the Region One championship. In another surprise, Tri-Valley defeated top-seeded Garretson 21-16 for the Region Two crown.
After the top two seeds were upset in the Region Three semifinals, fourth-seeded Bon Homme pulled off another surprise with the Cavaliers' 15-6 championship victory over Wagner on Monday.
The same thing happened in Region Four, where the top two seeds were upset in the regional semifinals, and the fourth-seeded team, Mobridge, pulled off its second upset of the playoffs in a 20-19 Region Four finals victory over third-seed Stanley County.
Football: Nine-Man Football Playoffs
Saturday's semifinals in nine-man football will feature Ipswich against Gregory and Emery/Ethan versus DeSmet/Iriquois in 9-AA, Northwestern hosts Timber Lake and Scotland takes on Estelline in 9-A, while in 9-B it will be Grant-Deuel against Harding County and Dell Rapids St. Mary's against Colome.
Dell Rapids St. Mary's avenged a first round playoff loss last year to Sanborn Central, 38-0 on Monday night. Sanborn Central's top running back, Lukas VanLaecken, was held to less than 40 yards in the first half, after VanLaecken erupted for 298 yards and six touchdowns in last week's first round victory over Warner. St. Mary's has reached the semi-finals for the first time in five years.
Emery-Ethan moves on, thanks to a 290-yard, five-touchdown performance by running back Josh Endres in a 48-16 regional championship win over Marion-Hurley, a team Emery-Ethan had beaten in the regular season 45-8.
Scotland's advancement in the 9-A playoffs came at the expense of top-ranked Avon 14-6, a team playing without coach Tom Culver, who had left for deployment to the Middle East as part of a South Dakota National Guard unit. Avon beat Scotland 18-12 in overtime, during a regular season contest in September. Scotland's Mark Sayler scored the winning touchdown on a 42-yard run with six minutes remaining in the first half. That score came after Clarence Vanderlei's one-yard score with 7:35 left in the half drew Avon within one point at 7-6.
